RESEARCH ENRICHER



Your job will be to provide enrichment material regarding some topic within the chapter. This material could be historical, information about bees, an article on the Wailing Wall, or even some facts about the Black Madonna. You will investigate Information which a reader may not have too much familiarity with, but that is important to the author’s purpose and message. It should be something that you as a reader would like to know more about to get a more accurate interpretation of the author's intent.

Chapter 1: Bees 11/4/08
Bees are insects that are related to wasps and ants. They are found on every continent except for Antartica, and there are around 20,000 species. Bees depend on pollen for protein and on flower nectar for energy. They are the most important pollinating insects. Some types of bees have feathery body hair for collecting pollen, and a defensive sting. Honey bees and stingless bees make large amounts of honey. Many bees are black or gray, but others are bright yellow, red, metallic green, or blue. Bees can range in size from .08 inches to 1.6 inches. Most bees are found in warm areas, such as Mexico.
(EL)

Chapter 2 - the Black Modonna

There are black Madonnas and there are Black Madonnas. The black Madonnas are any dark skinned representation of the Virgin Mary, usually painted by African or African American artists for people of the same or similar cultures. The Black Madonna refers to a type of Marian statue or painting of dark or black features whose exact origins are not always easy to determine, and most important, of particular prominence.


I thought that this following information was interesting about the Black Madonna. "Among the miraculous Marian images are the so-called "Black Madonnas." Many of these images are quite popular among the faithful. Of the hundreds which presently exist at various shrines, some of the better known images are: Our Lady of Altötting [Bavaria, Germany]; Our Lady of the Hermits [Einsiedeln, Switzerland]; Our Lady of Guadalupe [Mexico City]; Our Lady of Jasna Gora [Czestochowa, Poland]; Our Lady of Montserrat [Spain]; and Our Lady of Tindari [Sicily]."

Bibliography:
http://campus.udayton.edu/mary/meditations/blackmdn.html

If you would like to see a picture
Insert Link
Insert Link
of the Black Madonna click on the link below:
http://www.hotele-noclegi.com/images/blackmadonna.jpg

AC

Chapter 3 Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an African American man who was a civil rights activist. He started out accepting the leadership of the bus boycott, where African Americans didn't ride the bus for a total of 382 days. From there, He led a massive protest in Birmingham, Alabama, that caught the attention of the entire world, providing what he called a coalition of conscience. and inspiring his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail", a manifesto of the Negro revolution; he planned the drives in Alabama for the registration of Negroes as voters; he directed the peaceful march on Washington, D.C., of 250,000 people to whom he delivered his address, "l Have a Dream", he conferred with President John F. Kennedy and campaigned for President Lyndon B. Johnson; he was arrested upwards of twenty times and assaulted at least four times; he was awarded five honorary degrees; was named Man of the Year by Time magazine in 1963; and became not only the symbolic leader of American blacks but also a world figure.
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1964/king-bio.html

EAB

November 5, 2008 Chapter 4- Wailing Wall

The Wailing Wall, or the Western Wall, is the holiest Jewish shrine in the Western World. It is part of the original wall, supporting the temple mount built by Herod in 20 B.C. After the destruction of the temple, Jews came back to the wall to weep over the ruins. This is how it came to be the "Wailing Wall." There were thought to be shops on the streets of the Wailing Wall. It is also said that Jesus had walked the streets, and climbed the steps to the temple. Everyone from all faiths, even those who can not pray at the wall, can pray at the Wailing Wall. Prayers are written on slips of paper and placed into the cracks of the wall. Even though the Wailing Wall is one of the holiest places on earth, it also a source of grief and war.
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-wailing-wall.htm http://www.levitt.com/slideshow/s01p05.html
~MJ

Chapter 5 11/10/08

Beeswax is said to be a "miracle cure for everything." Beeswax was often used in ancient times and in the myth of Icarus flying too close to the sun with his wings made of beeswax. It was frequently used as a skin softner, and in the late 1300's, French farmers were to pay two pounds of beeswax for taxes. Even in modern day times, we find many uses for beeswax, some uses are: lip balm, candles, wax for skis, furniture polish, soap making, crayons, polishes, dental procedures, wood filler, glass etching, tack cloth, reconstructive surgery, creates a freely moving surface on irons and frying pans, waterproofs shoes and fishing lines, grafting wax, beard and mustache wax, leather waterproofing, lubricant for doors and windows. Beeswax is used for many different products, and people are still inventing many more ways to use it. Especially when using beeswax as a candle, it burns brighter, longer, and cleaner than any other candle! The statement that beeswax is a miracle cure for everything is practically true, because we use it to do many things.
M.B.

Chapter 6: 11/6/08

The story Our Lady of Chains is not a true story, but a story in the book. The story’s main idea is about Mary rescuing the slaves. The story starts out with the statue washing up on a shore where a slave found her. The slaves had been calling the Lord for help. The slaves used Mary for inspiration and strength. Every time they were down they would touch her chest. The master of these slaves would try and lock her up but no matter what she would make it back to the Praise House for the slaves. The slaves started calling her that because chains couldn’t hold her down and because she was stronger than the master and the master’s chains. The Daughters of Mary pray to her and they get strength from her to by touching her red heart at the end of each prayer service.
M.O.


Chapter 7

In chapter 7 of The Secret Life of Bees, Zachary Taylor aspires to be a lawyer after he graduates high school, but feels that his chances of achieving his goal will be lessened because he is African-American. The first African-American man to receive a license to practice law was Macon Allen who was born in 1816. Allen was working as an attorney's clerk as he learned the law. A year later, he gained admittance to the Boston bar. Soon after, the Governor of Massachusetts appointed him to justice of the peace, and Allen became the first African-American to serve in any judicial capacity.


A.F.

Chapter 8 11/11/08
The Queen Bee
To become a queen, one female bee is selected as a larva by worker bees. She is then fed a special diet that will allow her to mate as an adult. When a queen is healthy, and the season is right, it can lay up to 2,000 eggs every day. The queen can be identified by its abdomen, which is slightly longer than those of other bees. When a new queen is needed, the bee keeper may injure her, which causes the worker bees to replace her. They do this by clustering around her so that she overheats and dies. This is just some information about the queen bee that is not included in "Chapter 8" of The Secret Life of Bees.
MMS

Chapter 9: Sugar Water
In chapter nine, I was interested in what sugar water did for the bees and how it affects them. The significance of sugar water is that it stimulates bees to produce wax, which is the first thing they need to do so that the queen will have a place to lay eggs. Bees need nectar, water, and pollen to raise brood. Fummagillan is usually mixed with sugar water and fed to the bees. This helps prevent nosema. Sugar water can also be used for spring feeding, winter, and fall feeding.
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/bees/msg1000290222908.html
E.M.

November 13, 2008
Chapter 10: Suicide
Suicide is the act of killing one's self. Suicide may occure because of depression, shame, guilt, desparation, physical pain, pressure, anxiety, financial difficulties, or other undesirable situations. May committed suicide because of depression. Some people who committ suicide leave a sucicide note. Motions for leaving a note range widley, from seeking closure with loved ones to exacting revenge on others, blaming them for the decision. Some notes contain apologies to those they have left behind. In the Western world, males die of suicide more than females despite the fact that females attempt suicide more often than males. Medical professionals believe this stem from the fact that males are more likely to end their lives through effective violent means (guns, knives, hanging, etc.) while females are more likely to use more failur-prone methods, such as overdosing on medications. The World Health Organization stated that someone committs suicide every 39 seconds, which makes suicide one of the leading cause of death over the world. There is an estimated 10 to 20 million non-fatal attempted suicides per year.
(L.B.)

Chapter 11: Feast of the Assumption (Mary Day) 11-15-08

The Feast of the Assumption is what the sisters called “Mary Day” it is the feast of the death of Mary. The feast has two objectives, the first is to mark the happiness of Mary leaving this life and moving on to the next. The second is to note the rising of her body into heaven. This is the principal feast for Mary. It is celebrated on August 15 every year. Although the sisters celebrate Mary Day for a few days it is usually just one day long for more information on The Feast of the Assumption visit http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02006b.htm

Chapter 12- Depression 11/16/08
In Chapter 12, Lily and August talk about Deborah, Lily's mom. August tells Lily that her mom was depressed. Depression is a strong sadness, discouragement, despair, or hopelessness that can last for any period of time. There is no single cause for depression. A person can be diagnossed with depression because of genetics, environment, life events, medical conditions, and the way people react to things that happen in their lives. Depresrion is not any kind of sadness, someone who is sad, is not depressed. It is very strong where someone could feel horrible about anything. There are many kinds of depession symptoms including major depression, dysthymia, adjustment disorder with depressed mood, and Bipolar disorder. Depression affects people of every color, race, economic status, or age. However, it does seem to affect more girls than boys.
MP

Chapter 13- Denial and Anger 11-18-08
In chapter 13, Lily is in denial about her mother leaving her when she was younger. Then, her denials becomes anger. Lily deals with her anger by throwing the honey jars and other contents that were on the table. Many times denial turns into anger. When this happens, people take their anger out on things ( like the honey jars) which they will most likely regret doing later on. Later in chapter 13, Lily feels bad about breaking the honey jars and making a mess, so she and Rosaleen clean it up.
(MA)